304 Corsicana Street Hillsboro

From the time Hillsboro was surveyed in 1853, the 300 block of Corsicana Street was not built or occupied until 1885 when Patterson’s Institute was opened. A two-story frame classroom building was located on what is now 304 Corsicana, and there were two dormitories, stable, and outbuildings adjacent at 308 Corsicana Street. By the 1890’s there were homes at 314 Corsicana (Charley Graham) and at 318 Corsicana (Sara Young Brooks). The Greek-Revival home at 300 Corsicana was built in 1910.

And what story does 304 Corsicana tell for its first 50 years of existence? A story built around faith, love, tragedy, education, and family roots.

In 1913 Sarah Elizabeth (Bettie) Rutherford McCarty purchased the property and built the home that stands today at 304 Corsicana. In 1910 her husband, Rev. James Madison McCarty, died in retirement as a Cumberland Presbyterian minister. Bettie and her namesake daughter moved from 625 Elm to 304 Corsicana, returning Bettie Rutherford McCarty to her old campus site of Patterson Institute, the school she attended in her youth.

Daughter Bettie was a teacher in Hillsboro Public Schools and she and her husband continued to reside at 304 Corsicana after her marriage to Warren H. White in 1915. Warren White was employed at Graham Co. Department Store, fore-runner of Martin-McDonald’s in Hillsboro. White and Will Graham were close friends, and the Grahams lived at 314 Corsicana, one of the earliest home in the 300 block of Corsicana.

Tragedy struck on 2 January 1917 and Bettie McCarty White died of ptomaine poisoning and complications from pregnancy. By 1920 the Graham Co. had relocated to Beaumont and established the White House Dry Goods Company, and Warren White moved to work and live at Beaumont until his death in 1965.

With her daughter deceased and son-in-law relocated to Beaumont, Bettie Rutherford McCarty prepared the upstairs with an exterior staircase and rented to family T. O. and Beulah McClure Cone. Beulah was daughter of her sister Julia Rutherford who married Jesse M. McClure. In 1944 Bettie McCarty sold the 304 property to the Cones with retention of a life estate in the property. Bettie McCarty died May 9, 1952 and is buried with her husband and daughter in Ridge Park Cemetery.

Many owners have enjoyed 304 Corsicana since the death of Beulah McClure Cone in 1984, but current owners Jared and Joelle Allen are proud of their historic home and are working to bring economic and spiritual renewal to Hillsboro and Hill County. Both Jared and Joelle Allen are from the Dallas area, attended college and graduate school in the metroplex, and have lived in various places around the U.S. and abroad. When expecting their 5th child, the Allens determined to seek a smaller community “where our children could play with neighbor kids and our lives would be local. We wanted a real community and not just the conveniences of suburban America or the hustle/bustle of metro life. We found that in Hillsboro, and as soon as we entered 304 Corsicana we knew it was the perfect place for us.” So now a new chapter for 304 Corsicana has an auspicious beginning.

The Craftsman (California Bungalow) architecture of 304 Corsicana was a popular style that was a marked move from Victorian to 20th century architecture. This style spoke to a growing middle class in America and promoted form and function over detail and finesse.

The interior design moved from a central hall with rooms opening and provided a large living room at entry that would use French doors to open into space for dining, kitchen, and bedrooms. The home at 304 Corsicana is an excellent specimen that retains its original style and “feel” after years of changing ownership and renovation. This bungalow style remained popular in the U.S. through the 1930’s.

For readers who would like to know what “story” their house has to tell, we recommend research with the Hillsboro Heritage League. Sanborn insurance maps, 1867-1970, provide on-line information of streets and structures, including textual details, building materials and use. To access Sanborn Maps through TexShare Database contact the Hillsboro City Library at 254.582.7385. For additional information contact Will Lowrance at lowrancew@sbcglobal.net.